DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN AIKATSU NOR THE SONGS NOR THE TEXTBOOK PASSAGE USED
*For you by Fuuka
Momo's POV
I sat at my desk reviewing a Chemistry textbook that I found in the school library while Fumiko laid on her bed, playing on her phone. 'The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation expresses the H3O+ concentration in terms of the Ka for the ratio of concentrations of HA and A-. This equation was derived from the equilibrium constant, so the concentrations of HA and A- should be equilibrium values.'
"Momo look, there's another article on you and Shouta." Fumiko excitedly pointed out. I didn't bother looking at her, flipping to the next page.
"I don't know why you're still reading those. After two days, articles start to become repetitive in both analysis and commentary." I had my fair share of reviewed articles regarding our performance. Hundreds of journalists yet the most common thread would be the comment on how we were gutsy rookies both in a positive and negative way.
"Because it's proof that I was right. People are still talking about how you guys beat a bunch of second and third years in your first audition. Who wouldn't be impressed by you guys? It's not even just beating them! It's the fact that you guys did it together when the odds of being put into a pair were extremely low. I loved Shouta's song and your performance, that I can't help but to be proud of these articles. I mean just look at your idol's aura! It's so pretty! I'm not even sure when mine will appear." I rolled my eyes at her, trying not to show that I was equally happy with my aura.
I heard her playing the recording as her eyes were practically glued to the screen. One thing about auras was that it was difficult to see your own. According to the articles and our classmates mine was supposedly pretty and fitting my character. In my eyes I could only see Shouta's in the video which was as calming as always. It was amazing to see though since he wasn't performing yet was still visible through his work. It showed that I still had a long way to catch up to his skill.
"You would think that you'd show more concerned over your big day rather than fussing on me." Fumiko smiled remembering her task for tomorrow. Being Takahashi's manager gave her the advantage to get a small glimpse at behind the scenes that many don't really get in their first year.
"Hey Momo, how come Hayate has Rika but Char-chan is alone?"
"That's mostly because he's been in the business longer than her. Snapshot's been a model since he was six while this is only Takahashi-senpai's second year being an idol."
"Wait." Fumiko suddenly rolled to the side of her bed to sit up properly. "She is a second year. Does that mean that she became Queen in just one year?"
"That's why she's called the next Kanzaki Mizuki. The most interesting part I find is that unlike Kanzaki who had been a model in her elementary days and had training from Bepp-sensei, Takahashi-senpai had no experience prior to her entrance. Not much is known about her past in general. As far as anyone can interpret she was a normal girl that one day decided to be an idol."
"You can't say that. She's been on top of the charts since the beginning. I, myself, have almost every one of her covers downloaded. You don't get that kind of status just by one day deciding to be an idol. What about her split personality? Wouldn't it be hard for her to make friends? Wouldn't that also make it difficult for her to go to interviews? How do you think she does it?"
"You can ask her yourself. I know as much as you can find online. I do have to say that I've seen firsthand how hard she works to hold her title." I remembered to her orientation performance. The way she manipulated the stage to make it her own was remarkable. It honestly didn't matter if she got a manager since she seems to be handling everything well herself.
Even though Kanzaki had a manager herself, it was rare for younger idols to have a one. With schools and systems, managing and self-promoting was easier. Once they graduate is when managers are needed more either to help find jobs or time manage all events, depending on how popular the idol became.
Snapshot was right to have Rika since he was at a young age when he started and probably didn't know anything. Even mom had Aunty Kii and Aoi to help her out whenever she really needed it. Kanzaki was no different since she wasn't just an idol but was interested in all fields.
From what I assume her manager was mostly for the business contact but was respectfully towards Kanzaki's decision. She must have gone through a bit of stress with the pressure of up holding up Kanzaki's status. Especially since she had to tendency to disappear and reappear at random times. First as a child model to idol, then when she left Starlight, left Dream academy, creating WM, and finally her retirement.
More times than one it should have been difficult to watch over all of her actions. I closed my textbook thinking about how much Kanzaki had accomplished. I looked to Fumiko who seemed to be looking at facts about Char, sparking an idea to mind. If Fumiko was going to be studying Char then why don't I research more into the past Queens.
First up was the one that was hardest to get to. It was probably the best that I saw her first since it was probably more work to see her at the end of the day. The bus didn't go the entire way so I had to walk a bit more into the forest to reach her. If I hadn't visited her with mom before, I definitely would have gotten lost.
I made it through spotting the familiar house by the lake. I spared a glance at the little sign board that was no longer in use. I walked up the steps, knocking on the door. I had to wait a little while until the pregnant woman opened the door. "Oh Momo-chan, what a nice surprise."
"Morning Aunty Akari. Is now a good time to have talk with you?"
"Of course. Kuro went to a birthday party a little earlier so it'll be quiet. Actually, I just put little Fai down for a nap so is it okay if we talk out here?"
"Yeah, that's fine." She left the door opened a crack as I made my way to the bench on the porch. This place was peaceful that Aunty Akari and Sena had decided to live here even though his base of work was closer to urban life. Aunty Akari came to sit next to me, slowly lowering herself onto the bench. I hovered my hands behind her back just as an extra precaution.
"How many months are you in?"
"Around 2-3 left. Even though this is my third time it's still kind nerve wrecking to think that there's another child in me."
"Well you can always try and contact me if you want some help. I help Uncle Raichi with the twins every one in a while so I have a bit of experience with kids."
"That's very kind of you Momo-chan but you don't have to worry too much. I already got confirmation from work to get maternity leave. Tsubasa said that once it's born he's going to try to do work from home so that he'll be around if anything were to happen. Kuro is also use to taking care of Fai so there's no concern over his help. Besides, I heard that you're becoming a pretty newsworthy idol right now. I wouldn't want to disturb you."
I blushed hearing that she heard of my audition. "It was just an one audition."
"That's true but knowing you, you're probably going to continue to meet everyone's expectations. So how can I help you today?"
"I wanted to just hear you talk about your days as Queen. My roommate won the manager for the day for our queen so I wanted to look more into the past ones. Of course I could read and watch your interviews but I might as well learn from the person themselves."
"I remember the manager for the day audition." Aunty Akari had a fond look on her face reminiscing on the event. If I recalled properly Sumire was the one to win the audition but Aunty Akari had been caught by mom while trying to sneak a peek. Of course mom wasn't the queen at the time but Aunty Otome have given her the chance to mentor the younger years because she respected mom's status. She shook her head getting back on track.
"Right, my days on being Queen." Her lips moved side to side in thought. "It was exciting that was for sure but things kept moving at an incredible pace that I really wished that a camera was on me 24/7 so that I could revisit it. After I won was when we formed Cosmos, along with my solo promotions and Luminas when the school year finished, I almost couldn't believe that it was all over."
"That sounds kind of sad. Didn't you enjoy it?" She reassuringly shook her head at my statement.
"Don't take it the wrong way, I loved every part of it. Yes, it was busy but that was only one part that made it memorable." I tilted my head.
"I don't understand. From what you say, your schedule seems to strain you for time. That was the primary impetus for Cosmos's disband in the end. Overworking can lead to disturbed sleep patterns, stress on the mind on multiple levels, and has been shown to have an inimical effect on resulting products. By memorable I assume that you are trying to imply it was enjoyable. None of my listed results sound very enjoyable in any perspective."
Aunty Akari cracked a nervous smile. "I see that you haven't eased up on your studies. How do I explain this properly? Yes, all the facts you said about overworking are true, I can't deny that. I would be setting a bad example on you if I said that you were wrong. Yet I think that it was because I loved what I was doing that I didn't think much about time."
"That's illogical and dangerous." I stated bluntly.
"Yes it was. Trust me, I tell the same thing to Tsubasa before every fashion show. At the same time, as you continue your idol career you'll come to realize yourself that you'll get lost in time." She kept repeating that she enjoyed herself but I couldn't understand how overworking yourself was considered fun. To me, it sounded like her mind was sleep derived creating fake memories of joy. That was often the case with sleep derivation where the brain starts creating more hormones to keep the body working that it makes people happy or energized.
"Is that necessarily a good thing? Loosing track of time makes it more difficult to keep track of everything needed to be done."
"You need to loosen up a little Momo-chan. There's the saying that time flies when you're having fun. Don't you feel the same when you're reading your textbooks?" I thought a little to how I felt when I was studying. It started out as something to distract me from music that eventually expanded outside of school material. It was a nice break from what I was so use to.
"I guess there were some instances where I got caught up in learning." I met with Aunty Akari's eyes. They were a pair of clear pink eyes. Her aura of multiple hearts practically exploded out of them.
"Exactly. Right now you're in your beginning steps that you're still trying to make a name for yourself. That's fine too. But as you go on don't forget to take a second to smell the roses. Whether it be studying or Aikatsu, you'll eventually find yourself getting immersed. In truth, being Queen is nothing special by itself. It's only a title. What makes it special is knowing that you have so many people to support you through the rough. Fans, family and friends alike."
I sat in amazement of her. It was strange to look at her knowing most of her past and still seeing a new side of her. Aunty Akari was known as an inspiration to follow your dream for many people. Everyone knew how she started out as a clumsy idol that passed in favour of mom's passing. She used that as her stating point, increasing her ranking with each improvement. Actually hearing some advice from her was weird. I saw her as Aunty Akari but now in front of me was the idol Ozora Akari that eventually took on the mantel on inspiring many idols after her.
"May I ask another question?"
"Sure." I looked to her stomach that was showing the clear signs of life.
"I somewhat understand how much fun you had just by hearing you talk and from the past videos that I've watched. Like mom and grandma, you all look back at your time with this warm aura around each of you. Yet in the end, you all moved onto the next part of your life. I mean you, yourself, are expecting your third child. If you don't mind, do you ever wish that you can go back? Be an idol again?" She smiled gently, placing a hand on her stomach.
"Not really. One day, maybe we'll perform a Luminas reunion but nothing really more. You're right I do look back at everything in a favorable light. I wouldn't wish to go back though."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm happy where I am now. I'm married to a man that I love. This house use to be the place where he created dresses that I wore on stage. Now it's the home for my soon to be three children. I had many memorable moments. So now I'll continue to make more. I wouldn't trade where I am today for anything. It's up to new generation idols like you to continue the tradition."
I let of a weak chuckle. "That seems like a lot of pressure coming from you."
She reassuringly put her hand on mine. Aunty Akari, now, showed more of a motherly light rather than an idol. Her aura was always present but rather than feeling re-energized and excited like an idol on stage, I felt calm. As if I was back at my own home eating desserts with mom and dad.
"You'll get through it Momo-chan. You obviously know your own strengths and weakness; you just need to work on them."
"Like loosening up?" She laughed loudly making think that her hormones were really at work. From inside I heard a faint laughter coming from the house. No sooner, Fai came running out. He ran up to his mom without any shoes on. He bowed to me first then pulled himself onto the bench.
"How long were you awake, Fai-kun?" I asked the five-year-old replicate of the idol and designer.
"Mommy is no good at putting me to sleep. I've been awake the entire time, colouring in my room when I heard her laughing. What are we talking about?" Aunty Akari gave me an embarrassed smile.
"You should be sleeping not eavesdropping." She playfully ticked the boy. We both stood up, Aunty Akari ushering the boy off the bench. "I think I need to try to put him back to sleep. Sorry about this Momo-chan."
"It's alright. I have a few other people to visit as well so I need to catch the bus. Thank you for sparing some time for me." I bowed to the two of them, leaving them as I headed to the bus station.
"Momo-tan!" I stumbled backwards as I was tackled at the front door steps by a hyper active, orange hair woman. Probably the only thing that changed with her over the years is that her hair was only up to her shoulders nowadays.
"Otome-sama, you shouldn't attack Momo-sama like that." The pink hair, more mature one of the two, lightly chided.
"You should listen to Aunty Sakura, Aunty Otome." I patted her on the back, signalling her to release her from her bear hug. She took it well, hopping off me.
"Sorry, sorry. I was just surprised to see you here."
"Likewise. I was here to visit Aunty Sakura but this saves me some time as well since I was going to visit you later as well. I was just planning to see you after your daycare closed for the day. Why aren't you there anyways?" I questioned.
We were at the Kitaoji theater front gates. Since most of the performances were at night I figured it would be easier to meet Aunty Sakura beforehand. After she retried, her and her brother had taken up the family tradition in inheriting the theater together. With the mix of Aikatsu and a traditional performance, the two of them evolved the Kitaoji name into a completely unique display of acting.
What surprised me was that instead of my Aunty Sakura or her brother opening the door, it was Aunty Otome who first came out. True, her daycare wasn't too far from here but if I remembered correctly, it was still in working hours right now. I knew that Aunty Otome can be silly at times but she wasn't the type to slack off, especially considering that she was the owner.
"Oh don't worry about that. All the teachers kept telling me to take a lunch break as these two volunteers were scheduled to come in during recess and snack time. They even ensured me that since we were so close, they could run here if anything came up. Why did you want to meet us today?"
"Before that, please come in. We were just having some tea and snacks if you'd like." Aunty Sakura suggested. I nodded following the two women inside. Sometimes I forgot that Aunty Sakura was from such a successful family. A house basically triple the size of our bento shop, accompanied with a full garden and more.
We went inside one of the rooms where a few cakes and drinks had been set up in a traditional manner. I took a seat on the pillow, instantly reaching for a pink macaron, "I see your sweet tooth hasn't aged yet. Like mother, like daughter."
Aunty Otome commented as she took her seat from before. I smiled taking a bite out of it. With the trip to Aunty Akari leading into the forest and out, I really craved for something sweet. Not that I don't always craved for sweets. Aunty Sakura took her seat, pouring me a cup of warm tea.
"So how can we help you today?" I gratefully accepted it, placing it down first.
"I'm studying up a bit more on the past queens. Many people know about it as being the top title at Starlight, yet there's things happening behind the scenes that people aren't aware of. I just wanted to hear what you guys have to say about your experiences." Aunty Otome took a bite of one of her cakes.
"Hmm When you ask like that I can't really single anything out. The time I won was really special then all of a sudden DreAca popped out of no where. Sora-tan and Marie-tan really brought on some competition that I had to really up my game. Not just as the representative of the school but for myself as well. In the end, everyone there was really nice and we all became good friends." I nodded, following the familiar story.
"My story isn't as dramatic as Otome-sama's. I remember being really nervous before the Queen's cup, that's for sure. People kept saying that because I was in PowaPowaPurin that I was practically going to win. If I didn't, I would have felt like I let everyone down by not meeting their expectations. When they announced my name it was..." She cut herself off as a light shined down on her. I let out a small smile, seeing this old tradition. "Itttt wasss nothinggg likeeee I'veeeeee felttt beforeeee."
I heard the well known wooden block clap as she snapped out of Kitaoji theater light. We both applauded her as she returned back to reality. She smiled at me taking a sip of her tea as if nothing happen. "And that's it. Unfortunately, I won in my third year so it didn't last too long."
Similar to Aunty Akari the two of them were smiling brightly at their memories. "You know, earlier I went to talk to Aunty Akari. She mentioned that it was a lot of work but that she got through it with the support of everyone around her. Do you guys feel that way? That all of your hard work was rewarded when you were on stage?"
"Definitely. That was always a bonus to Aikatsu. It was like that before coming queen as well. Something I won't forget is my time with Mizuki-sama and everyone else as Star-Anis. Even more so, my time in PowaPowaPurin."The two of them made eye contact.
"Sakura-tan and Akari-tan are right. I'm sure if you ask any other idol, they would reply the same way. How do you feel about Aikatsu right now?"
"Me?" I took a second until I could think of an answer. "I don't know yet. There's still a lot that I don't even understand about myself, let alone how I feel about something as big as Aikatsu."
"Well what about that songwriter that you took your auditions with? How do you feel about him?" I was caught off guard with the random mention of Shouta.
"Shouta-kun? He's a bit of 'afraidy' cat if I'm being completely honest. But I guess I do like being around him. He understands me more than other people do and he's a hard worker. Is that the answer you're looking for?" The two of them chuckled at me. I looked between the two of them wondering what was so funny.
"It's amazing how you resemble your dad, eat like your mom but is still have your own character. Momo-tan do you consider him your friend?"
"Yes? I've never formally asked him but I don't recall him ever denying me of calling him one. I should probably ask him the next time I see him." They full burst out laughing, confusing me even more. I took one of the butter cookies, snapping it in my mouth as they calmed down.
"I'm sorry Momo-sama but it's really a mystery how you have the intelligence of a university student yet still don't understand things that elementary students get. I don't think you need to ask Song writer-sama for permission. Everyone already gets that you guys are close so I think if he has a problem with you, he would have said something by now. I think what Otome-sama was trying to figure out was how your Aikatsu was going so far."
"I'm just starting. Nothing big really has happen yet." I shrugged my shoulders in a nonchalant manner.
"Yet from what I remember from last Christmas, I asked you what you got your friends and you bluntly told me that you didn't have any." I avoided eye contact remembering how shocked everyone in the room was at the time. "You say nothing big, I say that young Momo-sama is finally growing out into the world. Wasn't it Aikatsu that allowed you the opportunity to make friends others?"
They both smiled at me, Aunty Otome having a crumb of cake on the corner of her mouth. I brought up a napkin to clean it off. She patted me on the head in thanks. "You really matured at a young age Momo-tan but I think Aikatsu will do well for you. I saw your audition. Both of them. Momo-tan was really really sparkly during the second one. Your aura was surrounding you that it was super pretty. I think it was because of Shouta-tan's song that made you like that."
I felt a soft smile on my lips. "I really am grateful that I was able to sing such a beautiful song for my debut. And I see where you're going with how Aikatsu is affecting me. I even managed to become comfortable with my roommate who is completely different from me."
The two of them had a proud look on there faces. "I, personally, don't have many interesting stories that you're looking for. I have many funny and touching stories that I'll always hold dear. Ones that molded me to be a better queen or idol, in specific, not really. I think what helped me was just continuing my work. I'm sorry if it's not exactly what you wanted."
"Same with me. Akari-sama would surely say the same thing as well. Just cherish the time that you spent with your friends as idols and that's all you need. You didn't have to go out and ask each of us for some advice. You'll be fine."
Their two auras flowed out of them filling the room with pink and orange lights. I stopped chewing on my biscuit looking at they way they looked at me. Two- thirds of PowaPowaPurin that shook the world with their sudden formation. The group that didn't have as many big, serious promotions but the group that was known for their welcoming personality. They were amazing with the way they worked, giving off a feeling that you could talk to them about any concerns.
Talking with the three queens today, didn't get me the answers that I wanted on the insider look but was enough to convince me that Aikatsu was really an amazing thing. Three different people, met with millions, inspired even more, not because they became the top. The only reason to claim was due to them having fun with something they loved. There may have been times where they were required to take on more responsibility but I doubt that they suffered for long when all they showed was a proud look in their eyes.
I stood up, brushing my pants clean of any wrinkles. "Thank you. If you don't mind I just have one more place that I have to visit."
"Are you going to see Risa-tan next?"
"I wish but buying a ticket that far is a bit extreme. I have another place in mind."
I inspected the stone walls of the building surrounding me. This place was well kept up, even having the proper tilling for a sound proof ceiling. The place was empty for now but once the sun sets this becomes one of the most popular underground party ground.
I looked up at the stage lights seeing that the positions were directed it towards where the band instruments should be. Most likely, there was going to be a full band tonight. Most unknown bands and singers would come here just to express themselves in front of random audiences that happen to come in.
"Strange to see someone here so early. How can I help you out little missy?" I turned to the middle aged man that came through the back doors. I bowed to him first.
"I'm sorry to come in uninvited, the door was open so I thought I could take a look around. I'm Suzukawa Momo from Starlight Academy." I showed off my school id tag on my bag so that he could verify it from where he was.
"Ah I knew you looked familiar." He took the small stairs to stand on the stage then sat down on the edge. "Not many idols come here. Especially not younger ones. This place is for free floating butterflies, as we like to say."
"I know. I've heard about this place before. I wanted to see it once before heading back to campus. This is where Kanzaki Mizuki made her triumph return after leaving Starlight, is it not?" He rubbed his gray stubble chin.
"Ah so that's why you're here. A fan?" I tilted my head side to side.
"I know much about her. A fan might be a bit of an exaggeration in my eyes." I walked closer, standing in front of him, placing my bag on the floor.
"Then why check out this old man's place if you don't consider yourself a fan? A weird place to go exploring if I say so. Most idols like to stick to more formal events."
"Like you said, this is a place for free floating butterflies. I just wanted to feel it for myself on why she chose this place. Kanzaki was never enclosed with the idol image in the end. Performing here was just another start for her, I find."
"You got that right. I remember when her and her manager came in here."
"You met them?"
"Darn right I did. Owned this place for over 20 years now. They both came in one day and asked if she could make her comeback here. Cours' I knew who she was, and asked why she wanted here. Said she liked the vibe this place giving off." I was amused at his use of slang. Different from other venue owners that tried to remain professional when talking to people in their establishment.
"Well I can understand why. It's quite the unique place. Not exactly a great place at first glance but I can tell your 20 years were well spent in making it flourish."
"You don't say? What makes you say that?"
"Walls that look broken down, made from concrete with barely to little decoration to uplift the atmosphere. However, there was no expense wasted in covering the walls in proper sound quality fabric and tiling to create the proper acoustic waves. My favourite part would have to be this stage though. Close to the audience, not too high with the perfect lighting positions and spacing for possible movement or changes. Little things that effect the overall performance. Only someone that looks closely at their patrons could develop everything that it needs. "
The man clapped his hand, giving out a hefty laugh. It seems that I'm quite the joker today making people laugh. He slapped his hand on the stage, jumping off. "I like you girly. How about you perform tonight? There's a band downstairs that's pretty flexible. Sure they can find a song for you to sing with. Why just look at the stage when you get the chance to perform on it yourself?"
I bit my lip, looking around. Only the drum and keyboard were on stage but three stands for guitars. I then looked at the size of the place. It wasn't too large, from rough calculations maximum capacity 150 people. "If you don't mind then, I'd love to meet them."
He cheered loudly as I grabbed my bag, following him backstage. The band consisted of a drummer, pianist, two basses and a lead guitarist. All of them looking like they were in their early twenties. The manager quickly gave them a run down of our conversation, asking if I could perform with them. They were just as he said and gave me the okay. The one holding drum sticks pointed over to the music scores they had telling me to pick one.
I shuffled through the whole list having many known names in it, including some of More Than True's music in it. After going through it a few times I had picked out the one that I thought was perfect for this occasion. The band smiled seeing my choice saying that they see why the old man liked me.
I felt the buzz of their strong playing as I cheered in the crowd. The place was almost completely filled with a wide range of people that it was difficult to categorize everyone. No one cared about status here that this unknown band were practically famous by the sounds of the applause.
"Alright everyone! How was that first song?!" The drummer and most likely leader yelled out. They got a positive response that instantaneously brought a smile on my face seeing so many people hyped up. "Well it's going to get even more fired up as we brought in a special guest!"
I took that as my cue, walking onto the stage. Feeling the hot stage lights on me, hearing the heavy breathing of the band members behind only left me to feel that I was walking in dad's shoes for the first time. One of the bass players put their hand on my shoulder, talking into the main microphone.
"This little girl is a first year idol at Starlight who has offered to take on quite the challenge. Regulars here might know that we have a few fan favourites. So today we have her taking on 'For You' by rock idol Otoshiro Seira. And here's the real kicker! She's even requested that she do this on a one take! So this will be the first time you guys and even us are going to hear her sing this! Everyone ready?!"
They screamed loudly as the bassist went back into their spot. I grabbed the mic on the stand looking at everyone. I met with the eyes with the band members giving them a silent nod to show that I was ready. The drummer started us off with the beating of the sticks. They started with their heavy, fast playing. Everything was well balanced, even hearing the underlying keyboard playing underneath the loud drums. I bobbed my head to the beat bringing the mic close to me.
mae o mukenai kurai hitori de kakaekonde I saw the faces of the audience gasping at me.
ashidori datte omoinda soredemo sa going my way
mada owattenai tte nanchatte Slowly their faces of amazement turned into excitement
kon nan ja mou dou shitainda?
futashika na kotae sagashiteru
jibun o damasezu ni tsuyogari dake o matotte
muri shite waratteita
asu wa konai kamoshirenai
boku datte inai kamo shirenai
saa ima I ripped the mic off the stand causing everyone to scream. I held the stand in one hand, pushing it away from me.
mou sarakedashite icchaeba ii I gave a side glance to the members beside me seeing them grin at me keeping up.
kono mune no shinsou o kakidashite singing…
sou omoi o tsutaeyou
aseranaide sekashiteru
sou tachidomatte hashitteru
mou zenbu koutei shiteikou
kimi to mirai o egaku tame ni
The band continue to play as I finished. Compared to Aikatsu that would require me to dance this was purely based on my singing abilities. I poured my desires to continue Aikatsu even if right now was still confusing. That's all I thought.
I grinned widely hearing them all shout out compliments. The band members came up to me, each giving a high five or ruffling my hair. "Say something to the crowd!" One the members told me. I nodded looking to the audience.
"Hello everyone, my name is Suzukawa Momo of Starlight Academy. Thank you for having me come out today." They yelled out more words of encouragement.
"So formal! Are you really the same person just singing now?" The lead guitarist joked. I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck feeling a bit of sweat on it. "Hey if you ever want to perform with us again, come back any time."
"I would very much like that."
'Shouta-kun, are we friends?' I texted the boy once I got back to the dorms. He immediately responded with a nervous cat emoji hiding it's face.
'Are we not? Have I been misinterpreting something? I'm sorry if I did anything that bothered you. I understand if you find me annoying. I'm sorry.' I chuckled at his character still coming out in text form.
'No it's fine. I just wanted to make sure that I was understanding everything.'
'Sooooo we're okay?'
'Yeah. I'll see you in class tomorrow.' I turned off the screen, putting the Aikatsu phone on my bed. I gathered up my things needed for a shower in preparation for bed.
Fumiko suddenly threw open the door, rushing over to me. She grabbed my hands shaking them and in result my entire body. I lost hold of my clothes having them fall to the ground.
"Would it be right to assume that you had fun today?" I pulled my hands back, picking up my clothes. Judging from her bouncing feet I could tell that she wanted to tell me about her day.
"Better than fun! Char-chan is really the Starlight Queen that I envision to be like. She's kind, mature yet cute and her singing is BEYOND words for me to think of. I even got a short video when she sang for her little sister's daycare. Did you know she has a little sister? If it wasn't for her hair and name I would have never guessed that they were related. She was so cute as well and when they got scared by Charlotte, she made the whole class laugh." She rambled on.
"I see you met Charlotte in person. How was that?" Fumiko visibly shivered at what I presume was Charlotte.
"I think that was the biggest curve ball today. I'm pretty sure if Ayumi-chan didn't do anything the kids would have started crying." I gave out a small laugh, as I placed my clothes on my lap, taking a seat on my bed. She sat beside me opening up her phone.
"Just listen to her." I leaned in closer to get a better view of the video taken. I watched the way her body paced back and forth so that she could reach the upper and lower keys. Too bad the piano headboard made it impossible to see the way her fingers moved. It seemed like her fingers were familiar with the melody, having no difficultly with the smaller keyboard.
When I brought my eyes up to her face I was confused. I tilted my head to see if it was just the lightning but it wasn't. My eyes grew in size realizing what Fumiko had failed to mention. By the end of the clip I felt my breath taken away by her performance.
"Did you hear how she clear she was? No warm up or anything right after playing a game of tag with preschoolers. That's our queen right there!" I retraced myself to look at how Fumiko gushed over her. I waited a few seconds when she didn't comment further on what we just witnessed.
"You didn't see it?" Her eyebrows furrowed looking at her phone again.
"No?" She said, unsure with her answer. I couldn't control my grin as I thought of what I could be doing next. "Momo? What's with the creepy smile? You okay there?"
"Do you remember what I said about the type of idol that I want to be like?" Fumiko lean back, doing a quick scan over me.
"You want to surpass your parents, so you're going to surprise people by going with the flow." I nodded, walking over to my bag. I took out my idol profile binder opening it to Char's pages.
"I have another surprise I want to try out."
"Momo, what are you thinking? This is the second year sections. You've been freaking me out since last night." I ignored Fumiko as I had plenty of time until classes started. There was, also, no rule that prohibited us from being here.
I walked up to one of the classrooms, knocking on the door. One of the upper years opened the door. "Oh Suzukawa-chan, good morning. Is there something you need?"
"Good morning. I was looking for Takahashi-senpai. Is it possible that I could speak with her?" The upper year looked in the room at Takahashi sitting with a few people surrounding her. They called her over to which she eagerly come.
"Momo-chan, Fumiko-chan, how can I help you two?" From the corner of my eye I could see Fumiko blandly pointing that this was all my idea.
"Actually I was hoping that I could discuss a possible performance with me. Fumiko showed me a video of you and-" I was cut off with her raising her hand.
"I'm sorry Momo-chan but I have to decline. I know that you're a great singer and I admire your boldness but I don't think I can just do a duet like this. It would be unfair to everyone else and it would be strange if I randomly just sing with you. Do you understand?" I nodded, raising my hand.
"I understand where you're coming from. Unfortunately, you didn't let me finished." Fumiko and Takahashi both looked equally confused.
"Then please continue." She offered. Fumiko looked frighten as she continued to deny any association that she was related to any of my planning. Even if she wasn't aware of what I was doing.
"I don't want to perform with Char-chan. I want to perform with Charlotte." There was a cold chill that snaked its way into the hallways as Takahashi's eyes switched colours.
Trivia: Takahashi was a random last name. Charlotte was thought of from the anime Charlotte. When I thought of having Charlotte's character design to be cold, I was looking up random images when I saw the poster for Charlotte and it was really pretty and the name stuck with me. The nickname Char comes from Kishuku no Juliet where one of the characters has the same nickname.
Aipom4: I'm glad you were okay with me using your pen-name since I wasn't sure how you and the others would react. I did put in the disclaimer that I didn't own them either. Good thing you liked the chapter too.
Guest: Thank you, I'm just no good at writing in third person so it ends up in the character perspectives. I want to do one for Hayate as well but it'll be a long time before I can think of one.